Rolling pin



July 23, 1940. J. w. OFFUTT 2,208,729

ROLLING PIN Filed'Nov. 13, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l July 23, 1940.

J. w. OFFUTT ROLLING PIN Filed Nov. 13, 1939 2 She ets-Sheet 2 Patented July 23, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT} OFFICE ROLLING PIN John W. Ofiutt, Ellwood City, Pa. Application November 13, 1939, SerialiNo. 304,235

7 Claims (01. 107-50) This invention relates to rolling pins and has particular reference to rolling pins that may be chilled for use in making pastry and similar articles of food.

It is well known that a rolling pin that has been chilled below room temperature will greatly facilitate the formation of thin pie crust and similar pastry doughs due to the fact that sticking of the dough to the rolling pin is prevented. Thus a less dry dough may be used to obtain a thin crust and because of the greater amount of water present in the dough it may be easily handled without danger of tearing as would be the case with a relatively dry dough.

It has been proposed to make hollow rolling pins and fill them with cold water or ice cubes, however, these types of rolling pins while better than the ordinary household article, soon warm up and must be refilled constantly to maintain a relatively low temperature.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a novelform'of hollow rolling pin which may be filled to a predetermined point with water and the handles removed therefrom so that the body portion of the pin will fit in the ordinary ice compartment of a modern refrigerator and permit the Water to be frozen into ice, thus providing a rolling pin which will stay cold for a relatively long period.

Another object is to provide a rolling pin of this character which shall'be constructed in such manner that it will be impossible for the user to completely fill the body portion with water. The construction is such that a pocket of air will be trapped to prevent complete filling and thereby automatically provide for the expansion of the water into ice without danger of rupturing the cylindrical body portion of the pin.

A further object is to provide a novel form of rolling pin which shall include a socket in each end portion of the pin for detachably receiving the handles. One of these sockets serves as a built in funnel to facilitate the filling of the rolling pin with water prior to use.

A still further object is to provide a rolling pin of the aforesaid character which shall be pleasing in design and which shall consist of relatively few parts that are simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture.

With the foregoing and other objects, and advantages in view, the invention may be stated to consist in the various novel features of construction and arrangement or combination, all of pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a Part of this application,

Figure. 1 is a side elevation with parts broken away ofa rolling pin constructed in accordance with my invention; 7

Figure 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional View of a modified form of end construction;

Figures 3 and 4 are similar views with the handle removed of still further modifications;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view through a still further modification of my invention;

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 6-5 of Figure 5; and

Figure 7 is a-fragmentary longitudinal sectional view through a still further modification of my invention.

Referring particularly to Figure 1, l0 denotes the body portion o-f the rolling pin which is preferably in the form of a cylinder and may be conveniently 'made from ordinary steel tubing or other suitable metal or material. The outer surface of the body portion is preferably polished and if desired may be plated With a non-rusting coating such as chromium. copper or other suit- Thisfiange forms a support for a socket member IE to which it isattached by welding or brazing or in any other suitable or approved manner. The socket member is illustrated as being formed with an elongated frustro-conical socket it that is adapted to receive a similarly shaped shank ll of a handle I 8. Each of the handles 68 is preferably identical in shape. so as to be interchangeable with each end 'of therolling pin and these handles are made of any suitable material. that is a relatively poor conductor of heat such as wood or any of the synthetic resi-ns commonly found on the market.

In the end wall of one of the socket members. l5, I provide-a filling aperture that may be closed by a plug H! which is illustrated in the present instance as an ordinary machine screw. The other socket member is preferably formed with a solid endwall, although, if desired, a, similar plug could be fitted so that either end could be used as a filling opening for the body portion.

In this connection, it will be noted that the socket 16 forms a built in funnel which facilitates filling the body portion l0 with water or other liquid. Also, it will be noted that the socket member I5 extends inwardly of the body portion so that the filling opening is within the confines of the cylindrical portion. This arrangement provides an automatic air trap so that the user may fill the body of the pin only to the level of the bottom of the socket member as indicated by the water level 20. Hence, when the water in the pin freezes, expansion may take place within the cylinder without danger of rupturing the device.

In use, the handles l8 are readily detached and the plug l9 removed to permit the body of the pin to be filled tothe level 20. The plug is then inserted and the rolling pin without the handles is placed in the ice tray compartment of a modern refrigerator where it remainsuntil the liquid is frozen inside the pin. By reason of the handles being readily detachable the overall length of the pin is reduced and it will easily fit into the refrigerator ice tray compartment. When the liquid is frozen, it is only a matter of engaging the tapered shanks I! of the handles into their respective sockets to render the device ready for use. Due to the fact that the body of the pin is filled with ice, it is obvious that the pin will be extremely cold and will remain so for a relatively long period of use.

In Figure 2, I have illustrated a modified form of construction wherein the socket member I5- is provided with an annular groove 25 that is formed by an outwardly expanded bead 26 and an outwardly turned flange 21. The end of the body portion 10 of the pin is deflected inwardly to seat into the groove 25 and is secured thereto by welding, brazing or in any other suitable or approved manner to form a liquid tight joint. The remaining elements are similar to those previously described.

In Figure 3, I have illustrated a further modification wherein each end portion of the tubular body is deflected inwardly to form an integral socket member 65 having a frustro-conical socket M5 for the reception of a handle as previously described. One end wall is provided with a filling aperture as previously referred to in connection with Figure 1. In this form of construction, all joints are eliminated between the body and socket member.

In Figure 4, I have illustrated a still further modified form of construction. In this form, each end cap H is similar to that described in connection with Figure 1, except that the inwardly directed flange H is drawn to a frustroconical shape to form a socket lfi for a handle, and the inner end portion of the flange 14" is deflected over to form a bottom wall and filling aperture as in Figure 3, or is fitted with bushing 30 containing the filling opening.

In Figures 5 and 6, I have illustrated a still further modified form of construction wherein the tubular body 10, similar to that illustrated in Figures 1 and 4, is fitted with end caps ll joined to the tubular body as previously described. The central axial portion of each cap is deflected inwardly as indicated at 35 to define an annular flange. A socket member 36 is snugly engaged in this flange and secured thereto in any suitable or approved manner. The outer end portion of this socket member is preferably spun over the cap H as indicated at 31, while the inner end thereof is reduced in diameter as shown at 38 to define a filling opening 39 and an internal shoulder against which seats a. fusible plug 40. This plug may be made of any of the low melting point alloys or even paraifin or similar substance having a melting point below 212 F. The function of the plug 40 is to provide a safety valve in the event the user should place the rolling pin in the oven to dry it and forget to remove it before the water became hot enough to generate steam. It will be understood that a similar plug could be used in the previously described forms of my invention instead of the screw plug illustrated. In some instances, it might be desirable to provide one end with a fusible plug and the opposite end with a screw plug. This arrangement would enable the user to readily fill the device through the screw plug opening and still maintain the factory installed fusible plug.

In the rolling pin illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, I have illustrated a rotatable handle which is detachable as a unit structure. This handle unit comprises a tubular pin 4] which is split longitudinally and formed with a head 42. A handle 43 of wood, thermoplastic or other similar material that is a relatively poor conductorof heat, is journalled on the body portion of pin 4|. The outer end of the handle is recessed to receive the pin head 42 and a metal cap 44 is spun over the annular enlargement 45 of the handle to retain the handle on the pin. By reason of the longitudinal split in the body of the pin 4|, it may be easily inserted into the socket 36 or removed therefrom, yet provides sufficient friction to maintain the handles in position while the rolling pin is in use.

It is understood, of course, that the rolling pin is sold unfilled, and the user fills the tubular,

body of the device as previously described. Once filled, it is unnecessary to remove the water unless desired to do so for some particular reason.

In Figure 7, I have illustrated a still further modification of my invention. In this form, the tubular body portion It! has each end portion deflected inwardly as indicated at If! and swedged or otherwise secured to an annular ring or collar 50. A tubular socket 36 is secured at one end in any suitable manner to the collar 50 and this socket projects inwardly into the body portion II]. The inner end thereof is reduced in diameter as indicated at 38 to define a filling opening 39 and an internal shoulder against which seats a fusible plug 4i] similar to that previously described.

The handle assembly is substantially identical to that described in connection with Figures 5 and 6 except that a thermoplastic disk 5! is secured in the usual or any approved manner to the thermoplastic handle 43 to retain the split pin 41 in place.

Any of the rolling pins illustrated and described may also be used as a cooling element, for cooling beverages or liquids, simply by immersing the ice filled body of the pin in the liquid to be cooled.

There are many obvious uses of this nature, where it is desired to cool adjacent objects without diluting or wetting them with the melting ice.

Various other modifications containing combinations of the several features of construction illustrated inthe drawings and as defined in the claims are deemed to be within the spirit of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. A rolling pin of the character described comprising a hollow cylindrical body portion having a filling opening in one end located at a point spaced inwardly of ends of said body portion, and handle members detachably connected to said body portion.

2. A rolling pin of the character described comprising a hollow cylindrical body portion having inwardly directed socket members lying within the confines of the cylindrical body portion, one of said socket members having a filling opening in the inner end wall thereof, and handle members detachably connected to said socket members.

3. A rolling pin of the character described comprising a hollow cylindrical body portion having end walls formed with inwardly directed socket members lying within the confines of the overall length of the rolling pin, one of said socket members having a filling opening located in the inner end wall thereof whereby said socket member serves as a built in' funnel for said filling opening, and handle members detachably connected to said socket members.

4. A rolling pin of the character set forth comprising a hollow cylindrical body portion, an end cap fitted to each end of said cylindrical body portion, a socket member associated with each end cap and projecting inwardly therefrom into said body portion, the inner end wall of one of said socket members being formed with a filling opening that is located at a point spaced inwardly of the confines of said cylindrical body portion whereby an air trap is provided to prevent complete filling of the body portion with liquid, and

handle members detachably connected to said socket members.

5. A rolling pin of the character described comprising a hollow cylindrical body portion having each end portion thereof deflected over to form an end wall, a socket member connected to each end wall and projecting inwardly therefrom into said body portion, the inner end wall of one of said socket members being formed with a filling opening that is located at a point spaced inwardly of the confines of said cylindrical body portion whereby an air trap is provided to prevent complete filling of the body portion with liquid, and handle members detachably connected to said socket members.

6. A rolling pin of the character described comprising a hollow cylindrical body portion having each end portion thereof deflected over to form an end wall, a collar secured to each of said end walls and having an aperture, a socket member positioned in said aperture and projecting inwardly into said body portion, said socket member being connected at one end to said collar and the opposite end being reduced to define a filling opening and an internal abutment, a fusible plug adapted to seat against said abutment, and handle members detachably seated in said socket members.

7. A handle for rolling pins comprising a longitudinally split pin having a head, a handle journalled'on said pin and having a recess in one end adapted to receive said head, and means secured to the end portion of said handle and extending across said head for securing said handle and pin together as a unit.

JOHN W. omrr'r. 

